Maritime Museums

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Seymour Narrows

Seymour Narrows is BC’s marine equivalent of the Duffy.

This stretch of water 14km north of Campbell River, between the city and Quadra Island, is part of BC’s vital international maritime corridor known as the Inside Passage, which links the American states of Washington and Alaska. It is a treacherous area that has claimed more lives and ships than any other water corridor in British Columbia and was at one time decreed to be the most dangerous navigable waters in North America.

Ripple Rock was one of the main reasons Seymour Narrows was so dangerous. Two underwater peaks came close to the surface, the summit of one being only three metres from surface at low tide. These peaks caused eddies and whirlpools that swallowed ships whole. Ripple Rock was so dangerous to navigate that it seriously limited passage through the area and thus slowed BC’s growth.

In 1958, the under water peaks of Ripple Rock were blasted away, opening up the water to larger vessels. Seymour Narrows is still a dangerous stretch of water, but without the risk of grinding ashore onto one of the peaks, the risks are manageable. The blast opened up the Inside Passage and allowed BC to grow and prosper with trade. The Ripple Rock blast did not cause any of the expected damage to coastal areas and did not affect fish stocks. The event was one of the first live television broadcasts in Canadian history.

Seymour Narrows (what an idiotic place for a power line, in the middle of a viewpoint!)

Seymour Narrows (what an idiotic place for a power line, in the middle of a viewpoint!)

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that must have been quite a sight

that must have been quite a sight

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driving south on highway 19 towards Campbell River

driving south on highway 19 towards Campbell River

The mill has shut down, putting those workers out of a job. :(

The mill has shut down, putting those workers out of a job. 🙁

the infamous mill

the infamous mill

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All I had planned for today was a quick jaunt up or down the highway to photograph the scenery. I picked north because I had run errands in the north part of town. The viewpoint for Seymour Narrows was the second out of Campbell River, about 25km north of town. The first viewpoint, is that of the Elk Falls mill which has shut down, taking hundreds of jobs with it.

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The Paddlewheel Graveyard

The reason I crossed the Yukon last week was to visit Dawson’s paddlewheel graveyard, where the great old ships of yesteryear were beached and left to die once their usefulness ended. The end of the steamboat era marked the end of an age for the Yukon, as the road network became larger and more reliable. The proverbial nail in the coffin were low-lying bridges under which these ships could not pass. It’s sad to know that this was the insurmountable obstacle for ships that made it through the Five Finger Rapids. Access to the graveyards is from a trail that starts at the Yukon River Territorial Campground; most easily found with a local guide.

trailhead from site 50something :)

trailhead from site 50something 🙂

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Day Four
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Day Four

It’s really beyond the scope of this travelogue to get into Savannah’s history. There is just so much of it and so many major players. I didn’t come for any of that; I just wanted to view the squares, see what Spanish moss is all about, tour the Mercer-Williams house, and take a ghost tour. Rather unusual for me, actually. I only scheduled one full day in the city, and that turned out to be plenty. My day in Savannah was lovely and fun, but I felt off, restless, and uneasy. I didn’t fully comprehend why until the next day.

Since I hadn’t come to Savannah to view a million sights, I knew I would have a more leisurely day than I normally do when traveling. I started off with breakfast at a Denny’s (something I always say I’ll never do again), then I ‘caught a CAT’ (Chatham Area Tranist), a bus, which costs 1$. The bus took me right from my hotel to the steps of the visitor’s centre on Martin Luther King Boulevard. Very convenient!

I’m a huge Forrest Gump fan (movie, not the book!), so please allow me the indulgence of this photo:

My very own Savannah bus stop bench! I even passed Henry Street, which is the street Forrest wanted to get to in the movie.

At the visitor’s centre, I picked up some info on ghost tours, then toured the history of Savannah museum. It had an interesting hodgepodge of exhibits… including one of the benches used in the filming of the Forrest Gump movie, and Forrest’s suitcase (or a copy thereof).

Next, I took a trolley tour of the city. We stopped in front of Chippewa Square, where I would return to snap these pics:

This is where all the Forrest Gump bus bench scenes were filmed. 🙂 Okay, okay, enough Forrest Gump!

I really enjoyed the trolley tour. I picked Oglethorpe Tours because, well, they were the cheapest at 10$ (plus a 5$ tip to our fantastic guide). I liked that they offered a 90 minute tour of the city, and then a jump on and off service that was really more of a shuttle system. You could wait at designated stations with your yellow sticker prominently displayed and a mini-van would pull up and take you to a location of your choice. Downtown is very small, so I only prevailed myself of this service later in the day, when I was getting to be a bit footsore. Very good service and excellent tour!

After the tour, I had lunch…

(EDITED TO ADD: Oh my. I had shrimp at Clary’s Cafe, never realising that this was the cafe prominently feature in both The Book and The Movie! I’m rewatching The Movie right now and can’t believe I didn’t get a sense of déjà vu when I entered the restaurant!)

then went to visit the Mercer-Williams House, featured in the book and movie ‘Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil’:

I found the entrance cost of 13$ expensive since we only saw the gardens and some of the first floor, but it was still worth it to stand in the spot where Danny Hansford was killed/murdered and to view the gorgeous sunken garden. The hall that runs the whole length of the first floor is roughly 12 feet by 60 feet… the exact dimensions of my old house. The Mercer-Williams house is huge! This house has a troubled history, but it sure is gorgeous. I was surprised to learn that Jim Williams sister lives there full-time. When I went by the next night after dark on the ghost tour, it was weird to see lights on all over the house, including in the rooms where the tour is held.

Next, I went to the Ships of the Sea museum. Entrance was 8$, but the old codger at the cash decided that this young lass deserved a break and sold me a student ticket for 6$. Awww, how sweet! There really wasn’t that much to the museum, but I really liked it. It featured models of ships that are relevant to the history of Savannah (plus a fantastic one of Titanic which isn’t relevant, but was really impressive). The museum would appeal to anyone who likes maritime history, models, and ships. I qualify for all three. The museum is housed in an old home which has a stunning garden with high hedged walls.

I was tired and a wee bit footsore by this point, so I took the shuttle to River Street, a cobblestone one-way thoroughfare right by the Savannah River’s edge. It is accessible by very steep staircases or equally steep ramps.

There, I took a picture of a typical Savannah sidewalk:

Those white bits are oyster shells.

I enjoyed exploring River Street and even climbed one of its staircases just to say I did. This picture does not convey the steepness of the stairs, nor the height of the risers. My knees were very mad at me by the time I got to the top. This is just a small part of the staircase:

It was very hot out and I was craving iced coffee, so when I saw a tiny stand offering this precious drink, I was happy to stop for a long while and watch the paddleboats go up and down the river. I took video footage of that, but no pictures.

I did snap this picture of a gorgeous bridge that leads to Hilton Head Island in South Carolina:

Before heading off in search of dinner, I snapped a picture of Savannah’s waving girl:

The story goes that she would wave ships in an out every day for about 40 years.

Dinner wound up being too difficult to find so I gave up. My mistake was to seek it in the historic district in the vicinity of where I was supposed to start a ghost tour. I should have eaten at River Street. Oh well, live and learn. The ghost tour wound up being canceled due to inclement weather. I was tired, so I wasn’t too disappointed, figuring I could reschedule for the next night. I bused back to the hotel and ordered pizza!

Alexander Keith Brewery and the Maritime Museum
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Alexander Keith Brewery and the Maritime Museum

Nothing would be open in the morning, so we slept in laaaaaaate, then headed to downtown. There, we signed up for an Alexander Keith’s Brewery tour at 1PM. We killed the time before the tour by walking on the pier a bit.

The tour was probably my favourite part of this trip. It was so much fun and hosted by actors who really bought into their act. The tour included two samples of beer and I was feeling pretty good after a full pint of red and a quarter one of India Pale Ale. 🙂 Hey, at least I was reasonable and didn’t have a full second sample! dueSouth fans will be amused that we were lead into a rousing rendition of Barrette’s Privateers by none other than Ian MacDonald. *snickers* I really like Keith’s, and even more now that I know the history and brewing process!

The following picture is my favourite of the Keith Brewery. If you look closely at the right side of the stone arch, you can see a large nick in it. This nick was caused by hundreds of wagons turning sharply as they entered the courtyard and their axles rubbing against the arch.

This sign at the brewery amused me:


We then ambled down to the Martime Museum where the highlight for me was the Titanic exhibit, followed by the Halifax explosion section. The museum is nice; big enough to contain plenty of treasures and surprises, but small enough to be done in a manageable amount of time. I bought a mug in the giftshop, taking advantage of the fact that I’d finally found a mug in a style and size I’d been looking for for months, and for a price I was willing to pay!

It wasn’t even four when we came out, but it was time for linner since our late breakfast had meant no lunch. We went to Salty’s, which is apparently a must-eat-at Halifax dining establishment. I had an amazing seafood casserole–scallops, haddock, shrimp, and salmon in a basil cream sauce covered with crispy mashed-potato rosettes and a hit of cheese. I’ll work off the calories later this week. 🙂

Another early night.